The present invention relates to an apparatus capable of processing sign language information, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus for generating a sign language animation to send information of the sign language animation as mail message information and/or reproducing received mail message information as a sign language animation.
In recent years, there is a tendency to structure not a special service system for impaired persons but a system in which impaired persons are also included in the coverage of a service enjoyed by normal persons in order that the impaired persons can enjoy the service similarly to the normal persons. This may also be judged from the advancement of universal designs.
However, such a tendency has begun to appear only just recently. Under present conditions, apparatuses having the materialization of such service systems to be structured are few and far between.
When attention is focussed on hearing impaired persons, it seems that the utilization of electronic mails between them is beginning to make progress.
However, since a sign language is generally used in the interaction or conversation between hearing impaired persons, it may be considered as being difficult to obtain such a natural interaction (or naturalness) as can be obtained in the case where a hearing person writes a mail message by use of a spoken language.
If it becomes possible to send by mail a sign gesture which is interaction means natural to hearing impaired persons, it may be considered that in the exchange of a mail between hearing impaired persons, a conversation nearer to the natural interaction is attainable as in the case of that between hearing persons. Accordingly, it is required to structure means for enabling a hearing impaired person to send and receive a sign gesture as a mail. It is not always that both of the mail sender side and the receiver side are hearing impaired persons. There may be the case where the sender side is a hearing impaired person while the receiver side is a hearing person or the case where the sender side is a hearing person while the receiver side is a hearing impaired person.
Accordingly, there is required means with which information represented by a hearing impaired person through a sign language is translated into a medium such as text information available to a hearing person. Further, there is required means with which text information or the like inputted by a hearing person is translated into sign language information which is a medium available to a hearing impaired person. Also, in the case where inputted information is sign language information, the input information may include not only language information but also non-verbal xe2x80x9cnon-languagexe2x80x9d information such as emphasis information and/or feeling information. Therefore, in the case where the transmission is made from a hearing impaired person or from a hearing impaired person to a hearing person, there is required means for making such translation of such non-language information.
Also, in the case where text information is translated into sign language information, the acquisition of an interaction nearer to a natural interaction as obtained when a hearing person writes a mail message by use of a spoken language becomes possible if there is means for adding non-language information such as emphasis information and/or feeling information to the text information.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising information input means capable of inputting at least information such as a text or the like, animation information generation means for generating sign language animation information by use of sign language word label information, information storage means for storing input information such as a text or the like and sign language word label information or the like, information display means for displaying the text information and the animation information, and communication means for sending and receiving information through a communication line or the like, wherein non-language information is extracted from modified sign language animation information data obtained through the user""s editing of animation information generated on the basis of sign language word labels, and the sign language word labels and the non-language information are sent by use of the communication means. On the receiver side, the sign language word labels and non-language information sent from the sender side are translated into data having an output form of sign language animation, text display or speech output which is set on the receiver side or the sender side.
For the translation of data form, there is prepared non-language information correspondence data concerning sign language information, text information and speech information. Also, a difference value between modified sign language animation information data obtained through the user""s addition of emphasis representation and/or feeling representation to original sign animation information generated by the sign language animation information generation means from sign language word label string information and the original sign animation information data before addition is determined, and non-language information including emphasis representation and/or feeling representation is extracted on the basis of the determined difference value.
In the case where the user inputs a natural language text and sends the inputted text, the receiver side analyzes the received text by use of morphological analysis means. Adjacent ones of divisional words obtained as the result of analysis are coupled to generate coupled words. The divisional word may further be divided. Natural language words in natural language word to sign language word label correspondence data stored in the information storage means are divided to generate divisional words. The coupled words or the divisional words as generated are collated with the natural language word to sign language word label correspondence data to extract sign language word labels, thereby generating a sign language word label string.
The addition of emphasis information and/or feeling information is also made possible on a text.
When an emphasis portion or feeling applied portion as a non-language information representation portion is designated or specified on the text, the designated portion is stored as the emphasis portion or feeling applied portion and non-language information is added to language sign animation data corresponding to that portion.
In the case where the user inputs a speech, vocalization information is A/D-translated. Vocal sound information, sound pressure information, sound pitch information and time information are acquired from the translated vocalization information. Further, non-language information including emphasis information and/or feeling information is extracted from the contents of the inputted speech and the extracted non-language information is displayed as a sign language representing animation.
In the case where the user designates the output in the form of a speech, sign language animation information is translated into speech information through speech synthesis by use of non-language information inclusive of emphasis representation information and/or feeling representation information extracted from modified sign language animation data and the resultant speech information is outputted for the user.